1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to card reader assemblies and, more particularly, to smart card reader assemblies for receiving a smart card or the like and for mounting on a printed circuit board or the like.
2. Discussion of Related Art
Card readers which accept smart cards and the like are typically mounted on a printed circuit board (hereinafter, referred to as the “PCB”) or the like in a horizontal orientation, i.e., wherein a slot of the card reader is oriented horizontally or parallel to a plane of the PCB. By having the housing of the card reader oriented in such a manner, the card reader includes a footprint that occupies a relatively large area on the PCB thereby reducing the area of the PCB on which other items or components may be mounted.
It is desirable to reduce the area on the PCB lost to the footprint of the card reader in order to maximize the usable area of the PCB.
A need thus exists for a card reader that has a reduced footprint on a PCB thereby increasing the usable area of a PCB and increasing the number of components that can be mounted thereto.